Armored loom shuttle



N MM A March 6, 1945. A DAVIS ARMORED LOOM SHUTTLE Filed Dec. 51, 1943Patented Mar. 6, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARMORED LOOM SHUTTLEHarry A. Davis, Hopedale, Mass. .Application December 31, 1943, SerialNo. 516,386 4 claims. l(o1. 139-196) This invention relates toimprovements in loom shuttles, and the general object of the vinventionis to provide an armored loom shuttle which is less likely to becomedamaged vor fractured .when in normal use by the impact of the pickermechanism and which will therefore be less likely to be diverted fromthe proper direction of flight than shuttles heretofore produced.

The object of the invention-therefore broadly is to provide a loomshuttle of longer life, greater accuracy of operation when in use, andwhich will enable the production of more uniform and perfect fabric thanshuttles heretofore employed.

More specically the object of the invention is to provide a loom shuttlewith a stronger point structure and increased bearing surfaces to engage the walls and binder ofthe shuttle box so that the wear of theshuttle andthe shuttle box and binder will be greatly minimized. l

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a loom shuttle of suchrigid construction and contour as will avoid defective shuttleoperations which result in smashes, breakages, snagging of the yarn,etc., which results in producing imperfect cloth as well as delays inthe operation of the loom resulting therefrom.

ln the manufacture of usual armored loom shuttles .a block of wood ofrectangular cross section and of suitable length is shaped to pro vide avsubstantially rectangular body or core portion which when the armoredfacing or facings are secured to the surfaces thereof will be of thedesired standard size and the end portions of the block converginglycurved to a truncated end. A plate or plates of tough grainless orlaminated facings of uniform thickness are then bonded to the desiredside or sides and the con- Vergingly end portions of the Wooden body orcore throughout their lengths. Each end of the -body or core is thendrilled axially to receive the shank of the conical metal tip andat anarrow distance therefrom is provided with a concentric groove toreceive a ferrule or Wire coil to prevent rupture of the thin shell ofwood remaining between-the shank of the tip and the ferrule as the shankof the tip is forced into place. The end portions of the armored bodyare'then sized down to the size and shape of the base of the metal tipand the shuttle nally smoothly finished. By reason of this constructiononly` a small restricted area of Wood remains, in usual armoredshuttles, tov abut the base of the metal tip or the fibre or soft metalwasher which is usually interposed therebetween.

Furthermore the sizing down of theconical end portions of usual armoredshuttles frequently so thins the end of the armor as to eX- poseportions of the wood at the adjacent thin edges of the facing which,because of repeated impact of the picker stick `upon the metal tip,

. frequently results', when the shuttle is in use, 'in

` is to provide a loom shuttle construction in which the truncated endsof the wooden body or core present a sufficiently large area towithstand the impactof the picker'stick mechanismv without deformationor fracture and thereforev to insure longer life of the shuttle andaccuracy in its flight and also to provide a facing or armor havingsu'icient thickness to completely surround the truncated end of the bodyor core at the base of the shuttle tip or the washer which is interposedbetween the truncated end of the body and the metal shuttle tip.

AUsual loom shuttles comprise a rectangular chambered body havingconoidally converging end portions which merge into the fiat surfaces ofthe body and even if the shuttle is -in perfect alinement in its flightthe rounded surfaces vof the end portion engage the binder and walls ofthe shuttle box with a tangential point contact which in the continuoususe of the shuttle re sults in the wearing and fraying of the portionsof the shuttle thus engaged and alsoinwearf ing a groove in the bindingmaterial which requires frequent replacement of the binder andl alsonecessitates the squaring up ofthe shuttle and consequent weakening ofthe same." The pertinence of this trouble can be no better em phasizedthan. from the fact that mills of any size are equipped'with shuttlesanding or other devices to redress the shuttles by squaring them andfrequently Sizing them to another standard y 'gage so that first-classgoods can be woven.' Such repairs of the shuttle box require thestoppage of the loom with consequent hold-up in production and togetherwith the replacement andrepair of shuttles further increase the cost ofproduction of acceptable fabric.

Another object of the invention is to provide a loom shuttle in whichthe curvedly converging end portions willpresent fiat faces to engagethe shuttle box and binder and thus with ya contact -whichfwill avoid`such wearing of the wallsf of the shuttle and the' binder andconsequently further insure accuracy of ight of the shuttle.

These and other objects 'and features of thel invention vwill more fullyappear from the fol' lowing description and the accompanying drawing andwill be particularly pointed out in the j A preferred embodiment of theinvention is Y illustrated in the drawing as applied to a selfthreading.shuttle of the Draper type.

,In the drawing: f Fig. 1 is a plan view of a ,typical automaticself-threading shuttle embodying the invention centrally broken away toindicate that the shut-` tle may be of any desired length;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of an end portionv ofthe iibre covering or armor employed in the present invention show-' ingin dotted lines the shape of the end' portion of an armored plate forshuttles heretofore employed; v l s Fig; Sis a view, mainly inhorizontal central section, of one end portion of an armored woodenshuttle` embodying the invention, the metal tip being shown 'inelevation and indicating by a dotted line the'contour of the end portionof the y chamber 2 extending vertically through the body to receive thebobbin with a bobbin holder4 3 having a forked end 4 extending intol thechamber 2,130 receive and holdv the base of the bobbin andto permitreplacement of the bobbin in Yan automatic loom. The opposite end of thebody is provided with a suitable recess 5 (Fig. 2) `to receive thethreading block 6 (Fig. 1) With the usual groove 'I extending from thethread eye toward the front lof the shuttle and the usual longitudinalchannel in which the thread runs duringy ,the flight of the shuttle, Themain rec'- tangular body I of theshuttle has continuing converginglycurved end portions 9 extending diversion of the axis of the tip withthat of the shuttle body as to vcause misalinenent 'of the shuttle inits flight.

In the nal turning down of the usual conoidal ends of the armorfibre-clad shuttle theyadjacent edges of the armor plate are frequentlyso cut away. as to expose unreinforced portions of the truncated end o-fthe wooden body therebylenabling said ends to be more easily fractured.Furthermore.. the thin adjacent edges of the armored facings are likelyto become loosened or detached and will present frayed or roughenededges which in the flight of the shuttle will snag or break the warp bythe shuttle. v

In theV present invention, the armor plate or or the filling which iscarried A.plates Il are of uniform thickness throughoutr therectangularbodyportion of the shuttle andk are gradually diminished in thickness atthe respective end portions to provide flat faces I9 as shown inxFig. 2;to bebonded-to theconverging end portions ofthe core; orbody.' By'reasonof this construction the converging end portionsof the body may be ofgreater thickness than in usual constructions as. is shown by the'solidline 2B', thereby greatly increasing theA wooden area of thetruncated endwhich engages the washer I8 or the baseof the shuttletipi.` t

In' the.,preferredxembodiment of the invention illustratedthe'flat facesof the rectangular/shuttle body'continue in rectangular cross section tothe truncatedends thereof and thethickness of the armored facingprogressively diminishes from i the main'body toitstruncated end.lInthis construction theshuttle tip instead of beingroonical is ofpyramidal form complementary toxthe rectangular truncated end oftheshuttle body; In

to thetruncated ends l0. In usual constructions the armor plate orplates II of grainless bre ,or of laminated construction are4 of uniformthickness-throughout their length as indicated.

by the dotted line I2, Fig. 2, and when applied to the continuallyconverging end portion of the 'body necessitate the cutting; down of theconverging wooden portion of the body or core along the dotted lines I3,as illustrated in Fig. 3, so

that the truncateclend of the wooden body is:

ofy restricted area. As all shuttles are necesf sarily vprovided with ahard 'metal tip Ill the shank, I5 of which extends axially into thetrun.

cated end of theV shuttle body, and. usually are provided with a ferruleor wire -coil I6 located in'. a channel'which is narrowly spaced fromthe shank of the shuttle to prevent the annular layerV ofwood I'ltherebetween from splitting,y the elective area of the truncated endwhich abuts the base of the metal tip or a Washer I8l interposed betweenthe truncated end and the base ofthe tip is greatly restricted andduring `the use of the-"shuttle is likely to be deformed or broken bythe repeated hammering of the picker sti-ck mechanism thereby causingsuch such'constructions the greater wooden area ofthe end of theshuttlerbody orcore is'maintained, and the relatively Vthin end ofthefacing which terminates flush with the endof the body or core andAabuts a vwasherwhich is interposed betweenv the base of therectangular; tip, is, of uniform thickness throughout and the wooden endof the shuttle is uninterruptedly covered and reinforced.

'Desirably the armor facing is of hard,l tough grainless brous materialwhich presents a smooth polished surface. It will be understood howeverthat other types of armor may be em yployed such as suitable plasticmaterial or the lilre which is of grainless construction andsufficiently tough and hard to withstand ,usage to lwhich the .shuttleis put'and which willpresentasmooth surface. y v By reason ofthis/rectangular crosssectional i yconstruction of the tapering endportion. of the of the shuttle box or binderorxthe local wearing- I ofthe shuttlel as in thecase ofshuttles having-aA y convergingendportionofrounded contour; ,Y

The 'additional wood at the end of the-shuttle block provided bythepresent invention enables the shuttle to withstandtheiimpa'ct'offtheblows of the picker mechanism without. thelikelihoodofl fracture or breakage and thereby greatly in1 creasesr the accuracyof operation: of: the. shuttleand the length of its life.v l f 1'Furthermore by providing the bottom and a' side or sidesv of the shuttlewith grainlesszfacing. the friction of-the' shuttle upon th'elayrandshutel tle box is greatly reduced. f

In the embodiments of `theinvention'- the upper edgeor edges; of thefacing presentagaf smooth grainless surface which will avoid snaggingand breakage of the threads with which it comes in contact.

The above and other advantages of the present invention Will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art.

It Will be understood that While the invention is illustrated herein asembodied in an automatic loom shuttle it may be employed in other typesof shuttles, that the armor facing may be of any suitable preferablygrainless material, that the facing may be applied to one or more sidesof the shuttle including the bottom and top, and that the particularembodiments of the invention shown and described herein are of anillustrative character and not restrictive of the meaning andv prising amain chambered portion of substan.

tially rectangular cross section and integral continuing end portions ofrectangular cross section curvedly converging to truncated ends of saidbody, a facing of hard tough armoring fibrous material bonded throughoutits area to a side of said main portion and to the continuing endportions thereof progressively decreasing in thickness from said mainportion to the truncated ends of the body and pyramidal metal tips xedlyse-y cured to the truncatedends in axial alinement with the body havinga base conforming to and abutting the truncated ends of said `body andfacing, whereby the converging flat sidesof the shuttle will engage thewall and binder of the shuttle box.

2. A loom shuttle having a wooden body comprising a main chamberedportion of substantially rectangular cross section and integral con- 1tinuing end portions of rectangular cross section curvedly converging tothe truncated ends of said body, facings of hard tough grainless fibrousmaterial bonded throughout its area to the bottom and an adjacent sideor sides of said main portion and the continuing end portions thereof,the facings for the main areas of said bottom and sides being of uniformthickness with the thickness of said fa'cings progressively decreasingfrom abutting the respective truncated end of said body and facing andeach having an integral shank firmly embedded in said body in axialaline# n ment therewith.

3. A loom shuttle of that type having a chambered integral Wooden bodyof substantially rectangular cross section With the end portionscurvedly converging to truncated ends, a facing of tough armoringmaterial conforming to and bonded throughout its` area to a side of saidbody, and tapering metal tips' having bases conforming to and abuttingthe respective ends of the armored body, in which the armoring materialprogressively decreases in thickness along the curvedly convergingportions of said side of the body to the ends thereof which abutthe'bases of the tips to provide at each end a greater wooden end areaengaging the base of the tip than if the facing were of uniformthickness throughout its length and thereby increasing the resistancejofthe shutf tle to the shocks imparted by the picker mech- -conforming toand abutting the respective ends' of the faced body, in which the saidflat facings progressivelyV decrease in thickness along vthe curvedlyconverging portions of'said sides of the body to the ends thereof Whichabut the bases of the tips to provide at each end a greater Wooden endarea engaging the base of the tip than if the facings were of uniformthickness throughout their lengths and thereby increasing the re'sist-vance of the shuttle to the shocks imparted by the picker mechanism ofthe loom.

HARRY 'A. DAVIS.

